Mea Culpa

Covered in Bees!

29

APR/17

While hanging out in the bar, the players noticed buzzing noises. This was particularly annoying to the totally-not-hungover K’t’k’prrk (Kateka Burrke). Upon further examination, the buzzing sounds turned out to be from largish bees flying in and out of the air ducts.

A posting on the job board indicated that a group called The Exterminators was looking to hire local help, and the group decided to contact them and see if the bee situation was relevant to this ad. It was, and the group took the job to help track down the hive in the service ducts.

Kartesh Fartouch stayed behind, and the rest of the players followed the bees into the ducts. They tracked them to an open junction area of several passageways. Here, a large comb had been built, with a large number of workers coming and going, as well as an even larger number of bees covering the comb.

With the help of a friendly worker, the group got past the guard bees and talked to the Queen. It was clear this was not just a swarm of normal bees escaped from a farm. They were, in fact, sapient. They had escaped their home planet and were seeking a place to be “free”. At home, they were not allowed to move the hive as they’d like and they were kept in one area to pollinate the crops of the Teleeenu.

Burrke lied to The Exterminators about knowing the location of the bees, but they sent ‘employees’ to investigate once they found out the bees had been found. The group had a few turns to prepare for their arrival, and the bees were able to escape to Mx. Hood’s ship with only one round of combat. A few guards were killed, but it was far less damaging than it could have been.

The group were summoned to Georgeanna Vikram’s office to confront the lawyers from The Exterminators. The lawyers had documents claiming the bees were non-sentient livestock and the property of the Teleeenu who had hired the firm. On the testimony of Mx. Hood and Davey, Vikram offered the bees sanctuary in the arboretum of the station. The bees happily accepted.

The bees moved into the arboretum, but their new home was quickly threatened by Exterminator mercenaries. The group intervened, placing themselves in harm’s way to prevent attacks on the bees. They ‘convinced’ the leader of the squad to retreat through a combination of flirting and being scary like death.

The bees got recognition as a sapient species and will be applying to join the Entourage. The Diplomatic Corps and representatives of the Visitor will be investigating the situation with the Teleeenu (who, as members of the network should know better).